ARC Review: Nyxia by Scott Reintgen

Nyxia
Author: Scott Reintgen
Series: Nyxia Triad
Publication: Crown Books for Young Readers (September 12, 2017)

Description: Every life has a price in this sci-fi thriller that has the nonstop action of The Maze Runner and the high-stakes space setting of Illuminae. This is the first in a new three-book series called the Nyxia Triad that will take a group of broken teens to the far reaches of the universe and force them to decide what they’re willing to risk for a lifetime of fortune.

Emmett Atwater isn’t just leaving Detroit; he’s leaving Earth. Why the Babel Corporation recruited him is a mystery, but the number of zeroes on their contract has him boarding their lightship and hoping to return to Earth with enough money to take care of his family.

Forever.

Before long, Emmett discovers that he is one of ten recruits, all of whom have troubled pasts and are a long way from home. Now each recruit must earn the right to travel down to the planet of Eden—a planet that Babel has kept hidden—where they will mine a substance called Nyxia that has quietly become the most valuable material in the universe.

But Babel’s ship is full of secrets. And Emmett will face the ultimate choice: win the fortune at any cost, or find a way to fight that won’t forever compromise what it means to be human.

My Thoughts: NYXIA is the first book in an epic space adventure. Emmett Atwater is one of ten poor kids from Earth who are given the chance to compete for a place on the team that will be going to Eden. He's black and from Detroit where he lives with his factory worker dad and sick mother who is in need of a kidney transplant. Winning a place on the team that goes down to the planet to mine nyxia will make his family financially set for life and will cure his mother. He has every incentive to do well. But so do all the other candidates...

The book tells of the many competitions that the kids need to win and tells about the rivalries and alliances that form between them. They are taught to fight and taught to manipulate nyxia. Emmett's best friend is Kaya who is a strategic genius. She encourages him to explore the spaceship with her because both kids are sure that secrets are being kept about the goals of the mission and other things too. When tragedy strikes, Emmett has to focus even more on making the team and getting down to Eden. The competitions all seem to be manipulating the kids to mold them into what the corporation wants and Emmett struggles to maintain his own values.

The competition gets even more tense when they learn that there is another team also competing for a place on the trip down to Eden and that only fifteen of the 20 kids will get to go. Because Emmett had been sidelined with an injury for a while and hasn't found a way to make up the points, he is on the bubble. He knows that in order for him to win a place a good friend and good person on his team will have to lose.

This was an entertaining story that was filled with action and lots of moral dilemmas too. I am eager to read the next books to find out what happens when the teams reach Eden.

Favorite Quote:

I learned our history in parables, stories of warning. My great-grandfather's restaurant got railroaded by a new interstate project. The government took the land out of his clenched fists and gave him just enough money to try to fail in a neighboring county. My own gramps gave up his scholarship to Michigan after his mother died. He could have been All-American, but he got a factory job and looked after his brothers and sisters instead. In every branch of our family tree, someone's brushed shoulders with real freedom. But there's always a catch in life. There's always some fine print that snatched dreams just before they were real enough to hold in our hands.

I received this one for review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.